


Always Leaving

by BrokenBookAddict



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Co-workers, Declarations Of Love, Developing Relationship, Eavesdropping, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotions, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light Angst, Love, Moving On, Romance, Secret Relationship, SnowHarry, Snowells, Workplace Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-23 12:13:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19701139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrokenBookAddict/pseuds/BrokenBookAddict
Summary: Coming home from a date with Wally, Jesse stumbles upon a scene she isn't expecting and it's left to her to pick up the pieces when things fall apart.





	Always Leaving

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own the flash. I do own ant errors found lurking here.

Jesse strolls down the hall, with every step she smiles to herself at the text she had just received from Wally. The words on the screen stare back at her, telling her again how he'd had a great time on their date tonight. With her thoughts on the memory of dinner and the lingering kiss they shared, she just rounds the corner to head into the room she shares with her dad when they stay here at the lab on earth-1, when his voice reaches her ears and stops her in her tracks.

"Where are you going?" Harry asks quietly but loud enough for her to hear. "Stay longer. Jesse won't be back for another hour or so."

Jesse's eyebrows shoot up completely surprised by his words. Her curiosity grows about who he's talking to and her surprise deepens further when it's Caitlin's voice that answers him back. "I can't." Leaning against the wall a few feet away from the doorway, Jesse listens in on their conversation, only feeling a little guilty about eavesdropping. Her curiosity too strong to deny. Her mind whirls with questions. 

"Caitlin..."

"I don't think I can do this anymore, Harry." Caitlin's voice breaks, sounding so emotional and Jesse doesn't need visual confirmation to know she's started to cry.

"Don't, don't cry please." Harry sounds just as emotional, which Jesse knows is a very rare thing for her dad. Rarely does he allow his emotions to get the better of him, the occasions where it usually occurs is when he talks about her mom or herself. "You know I don't like to see you upset."

Caitlin lets out a small laugh, completely void of any humour. "And you think I do? It seems lately all I do is cry."

There's a slight pause. 

"Because of me." It isn't asked as question but said more as a statement, one that Caitlin doesn't even try to contradict if the silence that follows is any indication.

"What do you want me to say?" She asks simply when she does finally speak again but she doesn't wait for an answer as she ploughs on. "You think I would have learnt by how much it hurts but I can't seem to stay away from you. I can't keep doing this, this isn't easy for me, Harry, watching you leave. The first time I more than understood, Jesse had just came back, she was traumatised by what had happened to her and she needed the familiarity of home and as much as it hurt me to see you go, knowing there was a chance I'd never see you again, I understood. Of course I did. She's your daughter and she must come first."

Jesse's heart aches for the other woman, at the sorrow in her words. Her head rests against the concrete wall as her dad talks or at least tries.

"Caitlin, I don't..."

"Don't what?" she interrupts again, an edge settling into her words alongside the hurt. "Don't be upset that the man I love is leaving again?"

Jesse is beyond shocked and judging by the silence that followes Caitlin's words, she isn't the only one. She knows her dad is feeling the same way.

"I know, I know I never said it but you must have known Harry, how I felt. Isn't it obvious?" A sob escapes her as she continues, "It sounds like such a silly thing but Iris asked me once, do I believe in destiny? And I told her maybe for her but for me?" She pause and Jesse can picture her shaking her head in despair. "After everything that happened with Ronnie I never thought I'd love someone again until you. This wasn't supposed to happen, you weren't supposed to come here and make me love you. I should have hated you but I didnt, I never did because you are different and I saw that, I saw you. Despite it all, fate it seems just can't cut me a break because you're leaving again. You always leave."

Jesse can't stop the tears that fill her eyes and she's stuck between bolting and staying put when Caitlin's heels could be heard, clicking their way towards the door. She doesn't get enough time to decide because Caitlin ignores her dad's plea to stay so they can talk and she exits the room.

When she steps foot into the hall and turns from the door, she stops dead at the sight of the younger girl outside the door.

Caitlin falters but doesn't say anything, just stares at Jesse through sad eyes before ducking her head. When she moves to make her way passed Jesse reaches for her arm stopping her in her tracks. Caitlin doesn't look at her but that doesn't stop Jesse from leaning in and whispering, "I'm sorry... I'll-- I'll talk to him." She doesnt know what more to say so instead she squeezes the woman's arm gently in comfort or maybe reassurance or maybe both and her hand drops to her side as Caitlin leaves, her footsteps trailing off quieter and quoeter the further down the corridor she goes.

Jesse waits, taking a few moments to herself to process what she has just stumbled upon then walks the last few yards to the doorway. She slides the door across so it'd fully open and looks inside. The room is dimly lit by the two bedside lamps on either side of their beds. Her dad is standing just in front of his bed, the covers a complete mess and Jesse tries to ignore the obvious reason why that is as her dad bends down to the floor to pick up his sweater from where it rested beside his boots before slipping it over his head. Once his jumper is in place, he all but collapsed on the end of his bed, head falling into his hands with a heavy sigh.

Jesse takes the opportunity to quietly make her way over to her bed, sitting down at the foot, reflecting his position. 

Neither acknowledge her arrival, the silence stretches between them as she allows her dad a minute with his thoughts before deciding that's actually a dangerous thing. 

"So..." she starts, taking a pausing breath. "I kinda heard what you were talking with Caitlin about."

"Of course you did," Harry huffs, a scowl on his face even if his daughter can't see it. "And I didn't say much."

It speaks volumes to her that he doesn't take the time to berate her for eavesdropping. "Yeah, I heard." Jesse lets out a little laugh. "Caitlin did enough talking for the both of you though." She stated before asking curiously, "why have you never said that you were together?"

"It started when Zoom had you." Harry doesn't lift his head as he shrugged, his voice slightly muffled by his hands. "There was never a right time, everything was happening so quickly, _it_ happened so quickly and then we left..."

"You never talked about it? About what was happening between you?" 

"Vaguely and we tried to stop but we just...

This is a lot more than she thought she'd get from him. Jesse nods her head in understanding though her dad can't see it. "You missed her when we went home. You were acting weird, I mean, acting more weird than usual but I just put it down to us finally being home, not having the threat of Zoom hanging over us any longer."

There's a pause between them. 

"I did miss her."

She admits if only to herself that that is a big thing for her dad to admit but she wants him to admit something more, something she isn't sure he has actually admitted to himself or even considered by his reaction earlier. "She loves you."

Harry's hands drop from his face to rest on the edge of the bed, knuckles turning white by how tight he's clutching it. "Yeah." He keeps his head down so he doesn't meet her eyes.

"And you love her?"

Again, after a few moments of silence that seems to stretch on forever, Harry finally looks up at his daughter and she plainly sees the turmoil in his blue eyes. "Jesse..."

"I told you just before we went up against Zoom that all I wanted was for you to be happy and I don't think you were back on Earth-2. I've seen the way you are here, with this team... what you could have with Caitlin.Because what do we really have keeping us there dad? You have a team in place that runs the lab but nothing, we don't really have anything keeping us there anymore." She shrugs, offering him a small encouraging smile. "What are you so afraid off?"

Harry lets out a shaky breath as he finally opens up and tells his daughter the truth, his voice laced with emotion. "After your mother died, I never... I didn't think I could love someone again like that until I met Caitlin and it's terrifying Jesse, to let someone in again after losing your mother like that. I can't go through that again. The pain of losing someone--"

Jesse fights to hold the tears at bay, because as much as he annoys her sometimes with how over protective he can be, she hates seeing her dad upset like he is now. Moving from her bed to his, she sits down beside him leaning against his side, her arm wrapping around his shoulders. "If anyone can understand that, it's Caitlin, dad. She lost her husband, twice. And I can't imagine how hard that must have been for her. Can you begin to imagine getting Mom back only to..." she trails off, her voice breaking as a few tears finally break free. "She gets it dad, she more than understands how terrifying it is to fall in love again after experiencing something like that but it sounds like she's willing to take a chance again, to be with you."

Harry nods, absorbing his daughter's words. It seems his bright little girl holds exactly the words he needs to hear. He's quiet for a few moments obviously thinking about something, when he seems to settle his thoughts he turns to Jesse. "Are you okay about this? About me and Caitlin? I know I should have told you... What about staying here permanently? Do you want that?"

Jesse rolls her eyes. "I just said as much. Caitlin is wonderful and I couldn't think of anyone better for you and about staying, it feels more like home here than earth-2 ever did after we went back. Things change dad. I was going to talk with you about staying before I overheard any of this."

"Wally," he says somewhat darkly. 

"Yes, _Wally_ but nevermind that. I like working with this team too and I really think we could make it work here, a new life." 

Harry smiles and wraps her in his arms, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "My Jesse Quick..." he whispers into her ear and he feels Jesse shake her head against his shoulder.

"I just want you to be happy, daddy." She tells him quietly, tightening her arms around him. "Now go, you need to fix this with her."

"I don't know what to say." 

"Just tell her the truth, tell her how you feel. It's okay to let the walls down dad." 

When Harry pulls back, he looks down at her before pressing his lips to her forehead. Jesse gives him a thumbs up and a beaming smile when he gets up to head for the door. Harry returns her smile over his shoulder before he disappears around the corner.

Jesse smiles, feeling rather proud of her dad for the step he's about to take. After everything, she understands exactly how hard this step is for him to take, losing her mother had hit him hard. But for Jesse, this is all she has wanted for him, for her dad to be happy. Nothing will take away from what he shared with his wife but that's the past, now his future lies ahead of him, a future with Caitlin. 

The smile lingers on her face and she hopes they can work this out. Reaching for her phone, she stares again at the message from Wally. Her heart flutters and she types out a response..... 

Across town, leaning back into the cushions on her sofa, Caitlin sighs into the quietness of the room before taking a sip from her glass of wine. Her phone illuminates in her lap, a quiet chime indicating the arrival of a text message. Swiping her finger across the screen, she sighes when she sees yet another text from Cisco.

' _I'm worried about you. You'd left the lab by the time we got back, just tell me you're okay. I'm here whenever you need me, even to hide his body. C x'_

She's touched by her friend's concern and his attempt to lighten her mood. The last bit of the text all but confirms the weird feeling she's been experiencing, that's been telling her, her best friend knows about what's happened with Harry. Her stomach rolls with nerves. She fired off a quick reply back saying that she is indeed fine, just tired and had left early in hopes of an early night. She leans over once finished and places the phone onto her coffee table at the exact moment the doorbell decides to chime. She looks over at the offending door and actually debates whether to answer. It's probably her new neighbour, dropping by again to borrow something else and she's just decided to ignore it when the doorbell sounds again. Placing her glass down beside her phone, Caitlin pushes herself of the sofa with an annoyed sigh, before making her way over to the door. She doesn't bother looking through the peephole before she wrenches it open.

And there before her stands Harry.

The air feels trapped within her lungs. 

They stare at one another for what feels like an age before Harry takes a step forward, his hands lifting to cup her face. "I'll stay, I'll stay here with you if you'll have me."

With everything she thought he would say, she never expected that. Caitlin's heart pounds in her chest as her breathing picks up. "Yes... yes if you're sure." She finds herself saying as tears course down her cheeks, his thumbs working to wipe them away but for once, their happy tears.

He takes his daughter's advice and tells the truth, tells her how he feels. For once, allowing the walls to crumble.

"More than sure. Jesse talked some sense into me and we're staying." Harry states quietly, his forehead resting against hers . "We're staying and I love you too, Caitlin."

At hearing those words fall from his lips, Caitlin's resolve crumbles as a choked sob breaks itself free from her throat. Dipping her head, she kisses him, kisses him with everything she has. Pouring everything ounce of feeling into it as her hands pull him closer, pressing herself against him while he moves forward, kicking the door shut behind him as he backs her up in the wall behind. 

In this moment Caitlin knows one thing for sure, she's never ever letting him go again.

The end.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed this. Feedback is welcome. More Snowells will be along soon so stay tuned, until next time...


End file.
